MidKino Week 2016
by Fareetauhl
Summary: When a shy, blushing celestial mage and a somewhat cocky, narcoleptic, reflector mage unite, a beautiful thing happens...
1. Chapter 1

Welcome to **Midkino Week 2016**! It's finally here people!

This is the first time I've ever co-hosted a pairing week, and unfortunately, it looks like it kind of threw me off. Sorry for the month long hiatus-hopefully I'll be back on schedule once it's over. My normal stuff should start up again on the 14th–Valentine's Day!

Anyways, I really hope you guys enjoy this. I don't really (well usually never) write stories _not_ completely focused on our primary celestial mage, but sometimes the second needs a little love. And who doesn't love our sleepy, plotting, scarily-good-with-makeup reflector mage?

This will be pretty much AU for the most part (though all fanfic is a little AU), thought there might be some canon. You'll have to see. And they are _not_ interconnected. I think.

It all starts tomorrow, and it should keep on going until the 6th of February.

 **MidKino Week prompts:**

 **Day one** : Can I keep you?

 **Day two** : Sugar High

 **Day three** : Roommates

 **Day four** : Late night shopping

 **Day five** : Makeup fail

 **Day six** : Old friends

 **Day seven** : Transport

 **Bonus** : Burnt

I plan on posting the bonus on February 7th, but that's just me. If you guys write for that one, it's up to you.

The prompts leave a lot up to the imagination, so feel free to write about everything! And if you do write something for this, leave a review about it or PM us. The wonderful **Empress of Everything** and I are so excited to see what comes up!

Anyways, see you tomorrow for:

 **Day one: Can I Keep you?**

- **Fareetauhl**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Welcome to MidKino Week Day 1! Today's prompt: Can I Keep You?**

 **A variety of prompts, not all in the same universe, at different points in their lives. Other pairings of this week will most likely include CoLu, NaLi (because it's important to the storyline), Miraxus (for convenience's sake), and Gray x Sorano (too lazy to come up with a name).**

 **Props to EmpressofEverything, fellow host and creator of this amazing ship week, for the apple juice idea. Check out her other story,** _ **non-existent sorrows and apple juice**_ **, to see the original source for that.**

 **Onto the story!**

Yukino sighed as she stirred her drink.

Swiftly picking up the glass, she gracefully chugged all the contents down.

She usually wasn't one for alcohol- she loved her liver too much to attempt to destroy it like Cana Alberona did (who was currently attempting this again in another corner)-but the current situation merited it.

Earlier that day, Yukino had dropped by Fairy Tail with Sting and Rogue to spend the day with her role model-Lucy Heartfilia.

Unfortunately for her, it was also one of the only days that Crime Sorciere, Lucy's boyfriend's guild, was able to drop by. Lucy had apologized profusely and offered to spend time with her anyways, but Yukino knew that the days the poison dragon slayer and the celestial mage had to spend with each other were far and few. Therefore, she had kindly reassured Lucy that she was fine, and had given the two of them some privacy.

She had instead opted to spend the day at the guild hall instead, and possibly spend some time with Mira and Sorano, the two people she considered her sisters.

However, once again, it had been a difficult situation as Gray and Sorano had planned to go on a date that day, so Yukino had once again excused herself to the bar with Mira.

While technically this meant she got to see Mira more, due to the influx of people that day, Mira had been kept extraordinarily busy. In fact, the only time Yukino had gotten to say more than two words to her, was when Yukino had ordered her drinks. So basically, only seven times.

And while she was slightly tipsy, even the drinks could not drown out the sight directly in front of her.

Natsu Dragneel.

With his new _girlfriend_ and _mate_ , otherwise known as Lisanna Strauss.

Yukino genuinely liked Lisanna, she really did. It's just that when two girls chased after the same guy, the losing side is bound to feel a little bitter. And jealous.

And yes, Yukino hated herself for every second that the stabs of jealousy ran through her. But she couldn't help it.

Maybe it would hurt less if Yukino and Lisanna looked less like carbon copies of each other. But sadly, they were very much alike in both looks and personalities.

The only difference was that Lisanna was not a failure like Yukino was. Lisanna had _saved_ her sister, while Yukino had just sat and cried. Lisanna was strong and powerful. Lisanna was beautiful and charming.

Maybe if Yukino was less of a failure, and more like Lisanna, Natsu would like her too.

The guild doors opened, and a laughing Lucy and a slightly smirking Cobra came through them. As they arrived, a chorus of wolf whistles and vulgar remarks greeted them Lucy blushed profusely, while Cobra merely looked on smugly.

Lucy was perfect too. Lucy had a boyfriend who loved her, and she was strong. Lucy had many people who cared about her. In fact, before Natsu had liked Lisanna, he had adored Lucy.

Once she had started dating Cobra of course, he backed off. She couldn't blame him. Cobra's glare was a fearsome thing, usually accompanied by a hair-raising snarl. Needless to say, Natsu had gotten the message quickly.

One thing was very clear to Yukino however. Natsu clearly preferred strong women.

Sure Yukino knew hand-to-hand combat and was a decent celestial wizard. But did she have Lisanna's strength, or Lucy's keys? Could she fight as well as either of them?

She didn't think so.

In fact, wasn't Lucy just the better version of Yukino anyways? More beautiful, more powerful, more strength, more perseverance, more _everything_.

She was even outclassed by her in _breast size_.

For god's sake, even her _spirits_ were in love with her.

Yukino let out another, more disparaging sigh as she eyed her empty glass. If she ordered another, Mira was sure to notice, even in her distracted state. And while she loved the barmaid, she would never dare to mention that she was jealous of her actual sister. Mira might like Yukino, but between Yukino and Lisanna, she would surely choose Lisanna.

After all, who would want Yukino when they could have people like Lisanna and Lucy?

Biting back yet another sigh, Yukino resumed staring at her empty glass. As empty as her spirits, she noted.

Yukino felt a hand on her arm, and she immediately looked up. It was Mira, and the barmaid looked desperate. Fighting through her alcohol-induced stupor (Yukino was a bit of a light-weight), Yukino struggled to make out what she was saying.

"…take this? Kinana took the day off, and Lisanna is really busy, and I hate to ask you since you're our guest, but would you mind?"

Yukino half-smiled. Busy. That was one word for it.

Shaking off her bitter, self-pitying stupor Yukino smiled her usual soft and sweet smile. "Of course I can Mira! Just tell me what to do."

After all, she couldn't very well sit here pitying herself forever, could she?

Mira smiled angelically at her. "Great! Thank you so much for doing this Yukino, I just don't think I can handle them all myself today! Can you take this drink to Midnight? He's sitting in that corner table over there."

Yukino let her gaze search for the visiting mage, and then let her eyes land on a partially obscured table far in the back. She let herself smile. Of course the narcoleptic mage would sit there. It was the perfect location to sleep peacefully in, set apart from the guild's usual brawls and outbursts.

"Sure," she replied to Mira. She then smiled apologetically. "Could I have something to sober me up first? I'm afraid I got a little carried away today…"

Mira frowned. "That's not really like you Yukino, is something wrong?"

Yukino quickly brushed off her concerns with a wave of her hand. "It's nothing. Sting is just rubbing off on me I guess…"

Frown still in place, Mira disappeared and reappeared seconds later with a mint green concoction, which Yukino swiftly downed. She blinked as she felt sobriety return to her immediately.

Smiling once again at the demon barmaid, Yukino thanked her, and then took the drink apparently reserved for Midnight from her grasp. The barmaid appeared to want to pursue the topic, but eyeing the line of people waiting at the bar, she hesitantly returned to her post. Yukino let out a sigh of relief. At least she wasn't going to have to tell Mira about what a despicable person she was being.

Natsu was happy with Lisanna. She ought to be happy for him, not jealous that he hadn't picked her. Sure he had avenged her dignity once. Did that mean he was in love with her? Of course not. Yukino's feelings were completely one-sided, and it was about time she moved on.

Taking a deep breath, she proudly walked past the adoring couple, her head held high, and moved towards the apparently sleeping reflector mage. The minute she passed them, she drooped, but continued in her path. Stopping before the desired table she placed the drink in front of him, and gently shook him awake.

"Midnight? Midnight, Mira sent me with your drink. I'm sorry to bother you, but I just wanted to let you know, in case you were waiting."

The reflector mage blearily opened his eyes and reached for the drink. Yukino took this as a sign that she was not a bother, and she gently pushed the drink into his hands. Lifting his head up, he grasped the glass in his hand and quickly chugged it down. It appeared to wake him up, and he slowly rose into a sitting position.

Yukino blinked. She had thought that the amber liquid she had given him was alcohol, but considering it had actually woken him up and made him _more_ alert, she was now doubtful.

"Um, excuse me, Midnight? What was actually _in_ the drink that I brought you?"

Midnight stared at her incredulously. "You mean, you brought me a drink, but you didn't actually know what was in it?"

Yukino blushed. "I was a little…distracted when Mira explained to me what she wanted me to do."

Midnight eyed her knowingly, but didn't pursue the subject, something Yukino was grateful for. She wasn't sure how to explain that she had gotten tipsy watching her somewhat secret crush exploit his relationship with his new girlfriend.

"Apple juice."

She blinked. "Pardon?"

He eyed her curiously, probably pondering the reason for her distracted state. "You asked what was in my drink. It was apple juice."

Yukino's mouth parted slightly. "It was…apple juice?"

Midnight nodded sagely. "It keeps me awake."

Yukino frowned. "But wouldn't you prefer to sleep? You seem to enjoy it after all."

Midnight smirked, a corner of his mouth tilting upwards. "Only when I'm surrounded by my annoying guildmates. However, when I'm in the company of pretty ladies, I prefer to stay aware of my surroundings."

Yukino blinked again, before realizing that he had meant her. Stammering, she attempted to hide the rosy blush that was now attempting to take over her face. "I-I don't… I'm-I'm flattered, but… I-"

Midnight sat back with a satisfied smirk as he watched the beautiful celestial mage stutter. He could get used to this, he thought. It felt oddly satisfying to watch the blush spread across his face, knowing that he had been the one to cause it.

"I know a way to spice up your apple juice if you want!"

This time, it was Midnight's turn to blink at the outburst. He had certainly not expected that.

Yukino blushed again. Why would he care about ways to spice up his apple juice? He probably liked it just the way it was. She was just being stupid again, as always. Stupid Yukino, always messing everything up-

"I'd like that."

Yukino jerked out of her thoughts startled. "You-you would?"

Midnight nodded, a slight smile gracing his face.

"Really?"

The smile on Midnight's face became fuller. "Yes, I do believe that is what I just said."

Yukino flushed a brilliant red. "S-Sorry, I'll get on that right away!" She immediately fled the scene, the tray that had held the drink she had brought him raised to hide her furiously flushed face. Once again, she had made a fool of herself in front of a charming guy. Would her bad luck ever stop?

* * *

Cobra snorted as he eyed the unaware and embarrassed celestial mage run towards the kitchen behind the bar in apparent haste. If she was referring to Natsu as the other example of a charming guy, she was probably one of the only ones to do so. He doubted that many had referred to the impulsive idiot in that way, save for his obviously infatuated mate.

Speaking of the devil…

"Hey Cobra!" Natsu burst in, fist already aflame. "Fight me!"

Cobra knocked him out with a swift punch, not even bothering to respond. Ignoring his now huffing mate as she bent down to check on her moronic best friend, he pondered the question that had plagued him since he had first met the idiot.

Why was this guild so filled with morons?

* * *

Yukino rushed back to the table, fresh new drink in hand. Stopping abruptly before the table, she set it down on the table fast.

"Here you go!"

Midnight looked up, already had been nodding off in the absence of Yukino. He eyed the drink. It was relatively similar in color to what he had been given before, but it now smelled and appeared slightly different.

He eyed it suspiciously. "What did you do to it?"

Yukino blushed. "It's just something my sister taught me a while back. She used to make it for me when we were younger. I used to get myself into an awful lot of scrapes, but whenever I was crying, or just sad in general, she would always just make me a steaming mug of this. It's called apple cider, I think."

Midnight did not lose his suspicions. "Is there alcohol in this?"

Yukino blushed even more furiously. "Just a bit."

Midnight stared at her incredulously.

"It adds flavor!"

"Your sister gave you _alcohol_. When you were, what, _six years old_?"

"Actually…I was four."

"..."

"She was just trying to cheer me up!"

"Oh sure. I guess your liver will feel really cheerful when it's rotting from alcohol poisoning."

Yukino felt the first stirrings of irritation since the conversation started. "Are you going to have it or not?"

Midnight smirked. "Cool your jets, princess. I'll drink it." He raised the drink to his lips, but paused midway. "Are you sure you aren't just trying to get me drunk so you can have your wicked way with me?"

Yukino flushed an angry red. "Just drink it!"

Midnight chuckled. "You didn't exactly answer my question." Yukino made an angry gesture at him, and he smirked. It seemed that the kitten had claws after all.

Yukino watched anxiously as he raised the glass to his mouth once more and took a sip. He seemed to mull over the taste for a few seconds, and then he took another sip. He set the glass down and stared at her.

Yukino twitched. "Well?"

"Can I keep you?"

Yukino dropped the tray she had been holding. "Pardon me, but, _what_?"

"Can I keep you?"

Yukino experienced, for the first time, what appeared to be a full body blush, as she stuttered and struggled to ask him what he meant by that. "Wha-what?"

"This drink…is the most amazing thing I've ever tasted in my life."

Yukino picked up the tray, eyes shining. "Re-really? I mean, I've liked it all the times I've made it, and Sting and Rogue seemed to enjoy it as well but…"

Midnight felt a flash of annoyance at hearing the two Sabers' names. So Yukino had made them the drink too, huh? It looked like he would have to change that.

"Really. In fact, it's so good, that I can't have you making this for anyone else but the two of us."

"The two…of us?"

Midnight nodded. "Exactly. From now on, it will remain our little secret. In fact, why don't you run along, get yourself some of this, and sit yourself down next to me so we can start on this tradition right away?"

Yukino nodded emphatically. "I'll get on that right away!"

As she quickly sprinted to the kitchen, Yukino placed a hand on her heart.

Funny. It was moving almost as fast as when Natsu had spoken to her in the past.

Yet…She didn't think she was over him yet. After all, she had loved him for almost an entire year. Just because she had met Midnight today and liked him, didn't mean that she would forget about Natsu right away.

But for now, she enjoyed his company. And like she had thought before, it was about time Yukino moved on. Maybe she had been a failure in the past, but now, she was a member of _Sabertooth_. And Sabertooth members did not lose themselves in self-pity like she had done before. Sabertooth members were strong and unyielding, and could overcome anything. And it was about time that Yukino started handling herself like one.

And strangely, Midnight also found himself thinking along the same lines as Yukino (minus the self-doubt and pity) as he finally allowed himself to move on from the white-haired barmaid. He privately vowed he would not attempt to interfere in her relationship with the sparkplug dragon slayer again.

And he also quietly hoped she did not discover what he had done in the past in an attempt to break them up.

He really hoped that she didn't. He didn't need to die before he finally had a chance to move on.

That would really put a damper on his whole day.

* * *

Cobra snorted as he surveyed the soon-to-be-existent relationship. The white-haired celestial mage had returned with her drink, and now the two were quietly chatting, with the celestial mage turning red and blushing every few minutes. Who did they think they were fooling? It was obvious they were both head over heels for each other. Honestly, if they started dating right now, he bet that they would be married within two months. They had been so busy sulking over the people they thought they "loved", that they hadn't realized that they really were perfect for each other.

He shuddered. His thoughts were sounding way too similar to that of his crazy wife's right then.

Speaking of which, he turned to face her, and then quietly rolled his eyes as he noticed her staring at the same couple with hearts practically shining in her eyes. Joining her was the demon barmaid, who had seemingly abandoned her post to join Lucy in her staring.

"I ship it. It may just be my new OTP! MidKino!"

Lucy grinned at the barmaid. "Thanks for your help in making it happen. If you hadn't sent her over there, who knows how long it would have taken them to get together?"

Mira winked. "No problem Lucy. It's about time Yukino got over Natsu. I was glad to help."

Lucy snorted. "No kidding. She is _way_ to _o_ good for him."

As if on cue, both of their glances passed over the still knocked out, and slightly drooling fire dragon slayer. They both shuddered.

Mira squealed. "I can't wait to see what their babies look like! His two-toned hair, her beautiful white hair, they're going to be so adorable!"

Lucy squealed in agreement.

Cobra stared at them both. "You do realize that they aren't actually together yet, right?"

In unison, both of them turned to face him. "Not yet they aren't. But they _will_ be."

Cobra stared at them and shuddered. This was getting much too creepy for his taste.

"And Cobra, you'll help won't you? You'll let us know how far their feeling for each other have progressed, right?"

Lucy chimed in. "Erik, you would tell me right? After all, if both of our friends get together, we could go on double dates! Wouldn't that be fun?"

Once again in unison, their voices rang out dangerously. "You'll help us, right?"

Cobra surveyed them both. As he processed their unwavering stares, their angelic smiles, and their pouting lips, he began to feel a new and unique sensation. One he hadn't felt for a while, except way back on top of Nirvana, before Brain had stabbed him.

He believed it was called _fear_.

 **AN: And that's it for Day 1! Review to let me know what you think, or to tell me if you wrote anything for this ship week, because I'd really love to read more of this pairing. It just needs more love people!**

 **That's all I have for now, check in tomorrow for Day 2: Sugar High!**

 **-Fareetauhl**


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Welcome to Day 2 of MidKino week! I hope you guys enjoy today's prompt: Sugar Rush! It's slightly shorter than yesterday's, but I hope you still like it!**

Midnight stared at the sight before him.

Moments prior, he had received a panicked call from Lucy, declaring that Yukino, his best friend, had gotten herself into a troubling situation, and that she needed his assistance. Lucy had been on her way to an important meeting with a publisher when she had found her, and since Cobra was locked away in his lab, and Sorano was off on vacation with Gray, no one else had been able to handle the issue. Therefore, Midnight had been summoned, even though he had been in the middle of his afternoon nap when they had called.

Still, while he had expected a variety of horrible situations when he had gotten the call…

He hadn't expected _this_.

Yukino giggled drunkenly. "Heyyyyy! It's Macbeth, my best frieeeeend! Can I call you Bethy?" She laughed, the sound slurred and irregular. "Bethy-I reaaally like that. Bethy, Bethy, Bethy…" she trailed off, humming quietly to herself.

He shook himself out of his trance, adopting a frown. Yukino was the only person he allowed to call him by his real name, and she usually treated it with more respect than this. "Have you been drinking?"

She groaned. "Sadly, that's a big no-no. All _I've_ had is candy… Lots and lots of candy! Meredy left it behind last week! Sorano _never_ lets me have candy… Sora's a meanie like that… But now I have all the candy I want!" She gestured eagerly to the piles of skittles, chocolate, lollipops, gumdrops, licorice, and generally sugar-filled products around her.

He deepened his frown. "Yukino, this really isn't like you. Why would you eat this much candy? You usually know better than this."

She frowned back and threw a lollipop at him, one which he easily dodged. "Oh boo you Bethy! For your information, Meredy told me that eating ice cream when you're sad makes you feel better! Erza disagreed and said it was cake, but I didn't have either, so I ate all of this candy instead! And it worked! I feel loads better now, see?"

Midnight paused. "Yukino, why were you said in the first place?"

Yukino shook her head, grabbing his hand. "That doesn't matter now, see? I'm all happy now! Let's go somewhere! I'm bored here, and we have to have fun, or there's no point! Come one! Let's go, go, go!"

Midnight let himself be dragged out, frown still in place. There was no use trying to get it out of her right now. Due to her sugar rush, her mind was probably so hyped up that it couldn't even focus. So to get it out of her, he'd have to subtly encourage the conversation topic later.

For now though, it appeared that he would have to play along.

Unfortunately.

* * *

There was pink sugar all over his face.

Out of all the places in the world that she could have dragged him to, she had taken him to a carnival.

And before he could stop her, she had already purchased two bags of cotton candy, completely demolished one, and then shoved the other in his face.

Hence the pink sugar.

It was a _very_ good think that his make-up was long-wear.

Still, as he frantically tried to dispose of the sticky mess, he watched Yukino.

She looked so happy, so free, as she pulled him around to the different rides and stands to participate in games.

It had been a long time since she had looked that happy.

Yukino hadn't exactly had it easy, with both of her parents frequently calling her a failure while she grew up, and then them dying while she was still young. Even her sister, the one person that had defended and cared for her, had been kidnapped and tossed into a slave ring, along with Midnight himself. It had only been recently that they had found each other again.

Additionally, there was also the part in her life where she was humiliated and expelled from her high school, and even the temporary time that she had been _jailed_ for a crime she hadn't committed…

The sugar rush, while having the effect of turning her into a completely different person…

The sugar rush, while having the effect of turning her into a completely different person…

Had actually turned out to be a good thing for Yukino (even though it had basically turned her into a drunk, so she would probably have a killer headache afterwards).

But, as they slowed to a stop in front of a stand, Midnight couldn't help but feel wary.

What did she want from him now?

"Midnight," Yukino said slowly, all the while smiling. "I want you…to win me this."

And with that, she gestured with a grand flourish towards a gigantic, stuffed, Mudkip plushie.

Midnight's eyes followed in that direction, and then quickly slanted over the game itself.

He gulped.

It was a ring toss game.

There was no way in hell.

Midnight hadn't exactly visited many carnivals in his childhood.

But even he knew the story behind these.

Ring toss games were positively _notorious_ for being impossible to win. There was always some trick with the bottles that made it impossible to win. Everyone knew that-it was common knowledge.

But now, Yukino was looking up at him with big brown eyes, waiting for him to win it for her, unaware that she was only going to make him look like a fool…

Also, he knew _how_ much she adored all Pokémon plushies, especially the water type ones and the rarer ones …

And if he didn't make her happy…

Sorano was going to come down on him like a demon from the book of Zeref (a well-known supposedly evil sorcerer and the source of many of the ghost stories that flew around Fiore).

Not to mention that Midnight absolutely _hated_ when Yukino cried. It made him feel small inside, as if it was his fault for not being able to cheer her up well enough.

And so he steeled his nerves, cracked his knuckles, and prepared to fight.

 _These bottles were going down._

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Midnight walked away from the booth with a slump in his step.

He had failed.

He couldn't do it.

He couldn't do _anything_.

Meanwhile, Yukino skipped beside him, cheerfully clutching the giant Mudkip, which she had won with ease, directly after Midnight's 19 failed attempts to land the ring correctly.

Honestly, why did he even try? She was capable enough on her own, even while not entirely sober.

And it was getting late-if he didn't get her home soon, it would get dark, and he was sure that he would lose her somewhere along the crowd.

Besides, just looking at the sky right now was already making him feel sleepy. It had been a while since his last nap, after all.

"It's getting late Beth. Maybe we should go."

Midnight looked over in surprise. Yukino had stopped her skipping, and was walking at a more sedate pace. It appeared that the sugar rush was beginning to wear off, and the effect was sobering.

He nodded. "Yes. Let's go."

Gently taking her hand, he guided her over back towards his car, the one they had taken to get here (he wasn't going to let her drive, even if she wasn't _technically_ drunk).

He felt her fingers clench even tighter around his, and he sighed.

Sometimes, being her best friend was really difficult.

He had heard guys discuss the friend zone before, and they had spoken of it hauntingly.

And yet, even they had never been friend-zoned to this extent. At this point, he was probably more of a brother to her than anything…

It was almost a complete repeat of the Natsu-Lucy incident.

In both cases, the girls were in love with someone other than the best friend (Lucy had been in love with Cobra, and Yukino was in love with Natsu).

Except, unlike Natsu, Midnight did not have his own Lisanna to help him move on from his heartbreak in the friend-zone. He was forced to suffer on his own.

In order to hide any possible awkwardness, Midnight had lied and claimed to still be in love with Mirajane, one of Yukino's sister-figures.

But in truth, he happened to be completely head-over-heels for the oblivious and serious-faced white haired girl in front of him.

And she would never know it.

************LINE BREAK****************

Midnight slowed to a stop in front of her apartment.

"Yukino," he said gently. "We're here."

Yukino stirred in the backseat. Just like a child, the minute she had stepped into the car's backseat, she had crashed and fallen asleep almost immediately. Now, she looked up at him with still woozy and sleep-ridden eyes.

Sighing, Midnight stepped out of the car, opened the doors to the backseat, and gently lifted her up into his arms. She let out a yelp in protest, but then settled back down to look at him with doe eyes. Judging by the slightly goofy expression on her face, Midnight guessed that she was still slightly tipsy from her sugar rush (though why anyone would be able to get _drunk_ off of sugar was still a mystery to him).

As he began the trek upwards to her apartment (her apartment was on the 4th floor), she spoke up.

"Beth?"

He sighed. "Yes, Yukino?"

"Is it supposed to hurt this much when you have your heart broken?"

Midnight froze.

He couldn't do this. He couldn't help her figure out her feelings for Natsu, while he was still struggling to get over her.

"I think so, yes."

Yukino blinked sleepily at him. "Then…Why would you do this to me?'

Midnight's brain blanked. Surely she hadn't just said-"E-Excuse me?"

Yukino looked down, her eyes brimming with tears. "You're supposed to love me enough to not do this to me. So why is it that I love you like this, but you only see me as a sister? Is it because you love Mira? What does she have that I don't have?"

Midnight continued his trek, mind still reeling from the previous statement. "Nothing. The answer is nothing Yukino."

"Then why don't you love _me_?"

"You're not sober. You don't know what you're saying. You love Natsu, remember?"

Yukino shook her head firmly. "No, I'm not that off. I know what I'm feeling. I stopped liking Natsu a long time ago, thanks to you. But then I loved you, and you don't love me, and being with you is so hard…But I need to spend time with you. I can't do this without _you_ , Beth."

Midnight's heart felt full to bursting. At first, he thought she was joking, or just extremely drunk. But if she was telling the truth, then it looked like his path was secure! He could have her-she wasn't lost to that flaming moron after all! There was so much to celebrate right now-she actually loved _him._ He was her love, and no one else. They could-

He paused again, and he slumped.

 _She wouldn't remember this_.

If sugar had practically the same effect alcohol did on her, based on the amount of sugar she had consumed earlier, it was likely that none of this would be retained in her memory.

He was doomed for a little while longer.

But at least he knew now.

After all, as ex-leader of the Oracion Seis, his old gang, Midnight knew how to be patient.

He would wait for as long as it took her to actually confess again to his face.

And when he felt she was ready, he would tell her too.

But for now, he merely whispered to her "I can't do this without _you_ either, 'Kino," as he dropped a kiss on her forehead and watched her eyelids droop.

Before long, a peaceful smile was on her face as she snored away.

Finally reaching her apartment, he quickly unlocked the door using the spare key Lucy had given him, and gently deposited her on the couch. Going to the kitchen, he rummaged around to find a tablet of Advil and a glass of water.

After all, she was going to have a killer hangover when she awoke.

* * *

Yukino groaned as she opened her eyes. Her head felt fuzzy, and there was a constant pounding that seemed to prohibit all thinking. What had happened to her?

"Here," a soft voice said, handing her a tablet and a glass of cool water.

Without thinking, Yukino chugged both down, and immediately felt the pain in her head reduce to a somewhat tolerable rate.

Looking up she was able to make out the face of Macbeth, her best friend. She smiled. He looked as handsome as ever, even more so due to the cure he had just given her.

"Thanks, Macbeth." Was it just her, or did it seem like his smile grew a little then? And what was up with that eerily knowing glint in his eye? It was as if he actually knew what she was thinking…

"Don't you mean, Bethy?"

Yukino blinked. "What?"

"Do you really not remember what happened while you were high on your sugar rush?"

Yukino let out a startled gasp. "I was high on sugar? But I never eat sugar! Sorano says it has a really bad effect on me! I would know better!"

Grinning, her best friend passed over a large, stuffed, Mudkip plushie over to her. "Your winnings for the day, Madam."

Yukino's mouth dropped open as she took it all in. "Where did I get this? What happened today? Macbeth? Macbeth why are you laughing? Tell me what happened, now! Macbeth!"

 **AN: And that's all for today people! Look in tomorrow for a hopefully longer one! Remember to read and review, and to let me know if you've written anything for this week too!**

 **Check in later for tomorrow's prompt: Roommates!**


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: And here is Day 3: Roommates! This one's a bit longer to make up for Day 2...**

 **I meant to post this before I left for school, but time got away from me, so it's a little late...**

 **And thank you everyone for your amazing reviews so far! it's really amazing to come back home and be able to read them after a long day!**

 **But before I move onto the story, please read the note blow.**

 **Note: This can get a bit confusing, so pay attention here. The members of the Oracion Seis are called by their codenames by the vast majority. They only allow their real names to be used by people they're close to and like. For example: Lucy would call Cobra by his real name, Erik, but she would call Midnight, well, Midnight. And Yukino would not call him Erik, but she would call her sister Sorano instead of Angel.**

 **Clear on that? If not, read it again and then read the story. On with the story!**

Yukino stared at the strange boy in her room.

The strange boy stared back.

"This has to be a mistake."

He shrugged. "This was the dorm I was assigned. What do you expect me to do?"

Yukino blushed. "But… We _can't_ share a dorm! You're a _boy_ and I'm a girl!"

The boy raised his eyebrows at her and she flushed. She hadn't meant to sound so immature…

"I am in fact a boy, but I would prefer to be called Macbeth, Yukino."

She gaped. "How do you know my name?"

He looked exasperated. "We went to high school together, remember? Maybe you didn't notice me because we weren't friends, and I was usually asleep, but I don't actually blend in, you know?"

Yukino couldn't help but agree. With his two-toned hair, thick black eyeliner, and dark lipstick, the boy-sorry, _Midnight_ , didn't really fit into the typical standard of a student.

He could be classified as goth, she supposed, but his hair…

Anyways, none of this was important. She couldn't share a dorm with him! It would be so _embarrassing_ , not to mention inappropriate.

Not to mention if Sorano found out _-_ the boy would be dead within minutes. Due to her absence for the majority of Yukino's life, Sorano tended to be a bit over protective of her younger sister-especially when it involved _boys_.

Poor Sting-Yukino really did hope his arms would heal soon…

Turning her thoughts back to the issue at hand, Yukino noticed the boy, midnight, staring at her. She blushed again. She supposed she had been spacing out for quite a bit of time…

Yukino set her jaw. "We need to go talk to the RA. Hopefully, she can connect us to someone who can fix this."

Midnight shrugged. "Makes no difference to me, but if you insist." He slumped his shoulders and followed after her as she continued down the hall.

It wasn't very far down when they ran into the RA, who was patrolling the hallways. Yukino couldn't withhold a gasp of surprise when she noticed just who it was. "Erza!"

The red-head turned around to face the. "Yukino! What a pleasant surprise!" She strode towards them, and Yukino couldn't help but notice that Midnight shuddered slightly when she moved closer. Had he met Erza before? "To what do I owe this visit?"

Yukino smiled. Erza was a close friend of Yukino's role model and friend, Lucy Heartfilia. She was reasonable, responsible, and composed (for the most part). She could fix this. "Well, there seems to be a problem with our room assignment. You see, Midnight and I are in the same room, but I signed up to have a female roommate. Do you know how to fix this?"

Erza took off her glasses and polished them. "Well, I could go and ask some of the counselors for assistance, I'm sure they would be willing to help. Stay right here Yukino, I'll be back shortly."

Yukino breathed a sigh of relief as she left. It looked like the problem would be resolved soon.

She noticed that Midnight relaxed as soon as Erza had left too. She frowned. "What's wrong? Do you not like Erza or something?"

"She almost ran me through with a spear two years ago. I think I'm entitled to be a little wary of her."

Yukino's mouth dropped open. "Er-Erza? Erza did that? One of Lucy's closest friends and role models?"

Midnight shuddered, as a terrified look materialized in his eyes. " _Don't even mention that name._ That girl is the _real nightmare…_ "

Yukino tried to picture it. She really did. But all she could picture was Lucy, waving cheerfully at her and inviting her to spend some time together.

Then again, maybe Midnight had experienced one of her Lucy-kicks. In that case, he was perfectly entitled in his fear.

"Ever since she started dating Cobra, I've constantly had to see her. These dorms were a relief-a quiet place to sleep away from her madness…"

Yukino blinked. "You know Cobra?"

Now it was Midnight's turn to stare. "Know him? He's my best friend...And a complete bastard."

Yukino gasped. "You shouldn't say such things! I'm sure that once you get to know him, he's very nice."

Midnight snorted. "Yeah, right. He's about as nice as that crazy, feathery, bitch of an angel, Sorano. Both of them have a screw loose, if you ask me."

Yukino saw red for a moment. In a flash, she lashed out and flipped him over her head. "Don't talk about my sister like that!"

Midnight groaned from his place on the floor. "Oh yeah, forgot you two were sisters-you seemed so normal. Judging by your attack though, maybe I should re-consider…"

Yukino blinked, ignoring everything he had just said. "Wait-you know my sister?"

He glared at her resentfully. "How do you think I even know your name?"

Yukino frowned. "If you know her that well, why do you insult her?"

"Are you kidding me? I don't think there's a single person she's met who _hasn't_ insulted her! Even your so-called role-model, _Lucy Heartfilia_ , has torn that woman a new one in the past!"

Yukino blushed. "That wasn't her fault… Sora was going through a rough time…"

Midnight rolled his eyes. "And I suppose that justifies everything, does it?" Grumbling, he brushed himself off and rose back on his feet. "Still, I'm impressed. You seem to be pretty skilled in martial arts."

Yukino beamed. "I've taken a few classes, and I really love it. I don't really like fighting that much, but it's just in the spirit of competition so it's fun!"

Midnight leveled a stare at her. "Only the sister of that psycho-bitch could possibly think punching people is fun."

Yukino leveled a kick at him. 'I told you, don't call my sister rude names like that!"

Midnight shielded himself easily. Yukino watched in surprise as her kick merely reflected off, almost as if it had hit an invisible wall. "I may not be as skilled at attacking, but my reflecting skills are second to none. Don't try that again."

Yukino flushed an angry red, but brightened up as she saw a familiar presence returning down the halls. "Erza! What did they say? When will they be fixing it?"

Erza took off her glasses and rubbed her eyes. "I-I'm sorry Yukino, but they say that since this university has had so many new students this year, and so many are staying in the dorms, they don't have any other housing available. They recommend for you to find another residence nearby, which they will take the bill for."

Yukino paled. "But there are no other empty apartments nearby! I checked already before coming here!"

Erza bowed apologetically. "Forgive me Yukino. I'm afraid that you have no other choice but to room with Midnight here." She straightened up and bared her shoulders. "You may hit me in penance if you like!"

Sweat poured down Yukino's brow. "N-no thanks Erza. We're good. Thanks for trying."

Midnight moved a little forward from where he had been cowering. "Actually, if you don't mind, I'd like to take you up on that-"

Yukino slapped a hand over his mouth. "We'll just be going now Erza! Figuring out roommate stuff and all!"

Erza nodded once formally. "Very well Yukino. Let me know if this misbehaving delinquent tries anything perverted." A terrifying expression crossed her face. "I would be glad to teach him a lesson if he does." Reaching between her breasts, Erza pulled out a long golf club that should not have been able to fit within her clothes.

Yukino nodded awkwardly, ignoring the look of betrayal Midnight shot her. "I'll be sure to do that Erza. See you later!" Dragging Midnight with her, the white-haired girl fled the scene. Rushing down the hallway at a panicked rate, she didn't stop until they had arrived at their dorm once again. Exhausted, she slumped against the door.

Midnight rubbed his neck from where Yukino had grabbed it. "So I guess we're roommates now, huh?"

Yukino mustered up a half-hearted smile. "I guess so. Honestly, at this point, as long as you're not a psychopath who wants to kill me in my sleep, I'm willing to put up with you."

Midnight shrugged. "And as long as you don't interrupt _my_ sleep, I won't become one."

She sighed. "You still haven't passed the final test though."

Midnight looked at her inquisitively. "And what's that?"

"You say you know my sister well, right?"

"Well enough. So?"

"How do you think she's going to react once she finds out that I'm rooming with a _boy_?"

Sweat began to pour down his face. "I'm sure it'll be fine. We're friends, so she'll go easy."

A shadow crossed over Yukino's face. "Go easy on someone who called her a _bitch_? Just how well do you know my sister?"

"Save me?"

"Not a chance."

"We're roommates! What about our bond?"

"If she kills you, I'll have the place to myself."

Midnight shot her a pleading look. "Please. This is humiliating, but I'm begging you here."

Hit with the full force of those eyes, Yukino paused and began to wilt. She really did feel sorry for him. Sorano could be absolutely ferocious after all… And he really did seem to be nice. He hadn't been completely rude to her, after all. Surely if she could help him this time, he would be a kind and allowing roommate in the future, and they could get along well!

It had nothing to do with the fact that her heart had beaten extra fast when she saw his eyes widened like that, or the beginnings of feelings she was having for him. Nothing at all.

And so she gave in. "Fine. I'll protect you. But please, remember this in the future. This is a debt you owe."

Midnight nodded seriously. "I'll remember."

She smiled at his sincerity. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad at all.

* * *

Lucy frowned, placing her phone on speaker. "Mira, this has got to be the most blatant breach of authority you've ever committed. If anyone finds out, Mard is going to be in a heap of trouble for abusing his authority."

The white-haired girl's reply rang out through the room. "Oh come on! Are you honestly saying you've never pictured the two of them together?"

Lucy shook her head. "All that I'm picturing now is Angel's face once she finds out what you did. Oops-I guess I mean Sorano now…"

"Don't worry! I've got a plan for that too!"

"…does it involve another matchmaking session?"

"Sort of. What do you think of Gray and Sorano?"

"I'm hanging up now."

"Wait! Lucy-"

Lucy hung up the phone and turned it off, knowing that Mira would probably try to call her again. She turned to face her boyfriend of almost a year. "Well? What do _you_ think?"

Cobra tilted his head in thought. "The demon is extremely insane. But that's nothing you didn't know already. About the pairing? She's probably too good for that asshole."

Lucy easily agreed. Mirajane was absolutely _insane_ for making her boyfriend stick the two of them together in the same dorm "accidentally", and Midnight was a bit of an asshole for the most part. "True, but maybe she could use the distraction. After that thing with Natsu last year, she's kind of lost all confidence with guys. And besides, he already likes her, right?"

Cobra snorted. "Yeah, but I doubt she's noticed him. He doesn't actually have an obtrusive personality, you know?"

Lucy shrugged. "Maybe. Do you want to check on them later today?"

"Not really, no."

"Let me rephrase that. We're going to go check on them later today."

"If I didn't have a choice, why did you ask?"

"It gives the illusion of this being a fair relationship filled with communication."

Cobra sighed. "I get the feeling that you could have easily been the gang leader plotting world domination if our roles were switched."

"I love you too Erik. Now let's go see if we can go spy on our friends."

* * *

Yukino groaned as she once again tried to sleep, clutching the pillow even tighter onto her head.

She had been so exhausted with the day's events that she had attempted to go straight to sleep.

Midnight, surprisingly amicable about this topic, had agreed to as well. Yukino had smiled and prepared for a peaceful night of sleep.

And then-it had started.

The sleep noise machine.

All night, she had listened to jungle noises, struggling to get to sleep. When she had asked him for the reason for the noise, he had replied that it reminded him of falling asleep with his friends.

Unsure of how to respond to that, Yukino had kept quiet and suffered through the night.

But she had had enough.

Surely he wouldn't mind, since he was already sleeping, if she turned it off?

She gently slipped out of the covers, untangling the blankets, and crept over to the machine. From there, she quietly opened the window, and chucked the machine, cord and all, out of the window.

She returned to her bed from there and wrapped herself back in a burrito.

Finally. Peace.

It didn't take long for her to drift off after that, unaware that even as she fell asleep, her roommate was silently laughing at the entire thing.

After all, he had started the whole thing as a joke, and hadn't actually meant for her to agree.

Oh well-at least it had been amusing.

* * *

Yukino opened the door with a smile. "Lucy! I didn't expect to see you here!"

The blonde grinned at her. "Well, living next to some of the best universities in Fiore has its perks. We all go to schools pretty close by, so it's not really hard to drop off for a visit every once in a while. But in other news, I heard from Erza that you have an unexpected roommate. What happened?"

Yukino shrugged gracefully. "I don't know, I believe that they ran out of space and made a mistake. Or maybe my name just really sounds like a guy's..." Her shoulders slumped.

Lucy shook her head. "That's not true! Maybe they saw Midnight's name and thought it was a girl's! After all, his real name is like Mac-"

Her words were cut off as a pillow came soaring towards her. A tanned hand from behind her reached out and caught it mid-air, chucking it back towards its origin.

Yukino gasped. "Cobra! You're here too? What an unexpected surprise! Come in!"

Lucy laughed. "I don't think we can stay for long today, we really just came to warn you. Have you heard that your sister is apparently planning to visit today?"

Yukino heard a thud behind her. Ignoring it, she smiled. "No, I hadn't. Why would you need to warn me though?"

Cobra smirked. "We didn't come to warn you, we came to warn him." He jerked a thumb towards Midnight's now prone body on the floor.

Yukino turned. "Oh yes, I guess he could use the warning. He's been a bit worried about it… Maybe I should try to convince her to meet me somewhere else."

Lucy grimaced. "Actually, I think she's already talked to Erza, so that might be useless at this point. In fact, we should get going. I think she's still a bit mad at me from last time, so having me here would probably make it worse. Not to mention Erik's ability to drive her up the wall of course…"

Cobra snorted. "She thinks she's a fucking _angel_ , but she can't handle a little commentary. I fail to see how I'm at fault here."

Lucy shot him a glare, and then grabbed his hand and began to pull him away from the dorm. "We'll see you later Yukino! We'll definitely stay for longer next time, and then you and I can _talk_. Bye!"

Yukino waved at her disappearing figure, and then frowned. There had been a distinctly Mira like glint in the blonde's eyes as she had left, and as much as Yukino loved her sister-figure, she usually had something up her sleeve.

Her frown deepened. Could it be that Mira was the one behind this? She did have connections-her fiancé Mard Greer was high in the ranks at this university-

Yukino shook her head to rid them of those thoughts. Mira wouldn't go that far.

Or so he told herself.

Burying the pessimistic and doubtful thoughts further back in her head, she turned around and moved further back into her dorm.

It was about time that she checked up on her passed out roommate after all.

* * *

Midnight trembled. He had wrapped himself in about ten blankets in order to pillow himself and hide from the approaching calamity, but even so, he still shivered.

 _She was coming_.

Yukino glanced worriedly at her trembling roommate. Maybe Sorano could be persuaded to come another day. Her roommate looked too traumatized to deal with her overprotectiveness right now.

And honestly, while Yukino loved seeing her sister, she could be downright terrifying sometimes.

But it was too late.

A knock sounded on the door, impatient and demanding.

Yukino sprang to open it. At the same time, Midnight emerged from the pile of blankets and with a flash, escaped to under one of the beds.

The door swung open with a click, and Yukino found herself face to face with her sister. There was a pause, and then she was immediately being strangled to death.

"Yuki! I missed you so much!"

"I-I missed you too, Sora," Yukino choked out.

"So how are you liking college so far? Any perverted boys I need to beat up?"

Sweat trickled down Yukino's neck. "You sound just like Erza. And about that-"

She was quickly cut off by Sorano. "Are you implying that the red-headed demon bitch and I are somehow similar?"

Yukino gasped. "Don't call Erza that! She'll kill you! And anyways, I know you want to kill Midnight, but-"

Her sister blinked. "Midnight? Why would I want to kill Midnight? And how do you even know him?"

Yukino stared. "because he's my roommate?"

"WHAT?!"

"I thought you talked to Erza!"

"I did! She told me you were fine with your dorm, not that your roommate was a _boy_! What kind of _imbecile_ would even arrange that? Where is that moron anyways? Is he here?" Cracking her knuckles, she began to search the room for Midnight.

Yukino panicked. So she hadn't known? "Wait! Sora-"

She cut herself off and winced as Angel began peering underneath the beds. The ensuing screams of fury and fear that rang through the room once she found her target seemed to be echoing through her head.

It was her fault that Sorano had found out in the end. She was the one responsible for his current torture.

What a great way to start off their year as roommates.

 **AN: How was that? Review and tell me if you liked it! Forgive me if I missed something about dorm life, because I'm not really that knowledgeable about it in the first place.**

 **I hope everyone's enjoying MidKino week so far! Tomorrow I'll be back with Day 4: Midnight Shopping!**

 **PS: Don't forget to check out Empress of Everything's stories, and I just found out that apriiil posted one for Day 4 as well. Read them and love them!**


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: Midkino Week Day 4 everyone!**

 **Honestly, I'm not sure how I feel about today's prompt. I've changed around my ideas for this a billion times, since my original plan accounted for a pregnant Yukino (but that's been used too many times), so I'm not sure how this turned out. It's also a lot shorter than the other days.**

 **Anyways, I hope you enjoy!**

It was one o'clock in the middle of the night.

All was quiet.

But Yukino was panicking.

She had stayed up until then to work on her Astronomy paper, which was due tomorrow, and had just finished five minutes ago.

She had then proceeded to the bathroom to wash up, only to freeze at the sight herself in the mirror, a bloodstain visible clearly through the fabric of her sleeping shorts.

 _Blood_.

A week earlier than it should have been.

Those period-calendar apps were not _half_ of what they promised to be. Honestly, if Yukino ever met the people who created those apps, she would show them the product of all of her hand-to hand combat lessons.

But resigning herself to her fate, she had opened up the cabinet drawers to scrounge out a pad.

 _Only to find that there were none_.

She had ripped through the cabinet's interior, and then searched the other bathroom, and then the kitchen. She had been desperate for the sight of _anything_ , one pad, one tampon, one _anything_.

She had found none.

And now she was panicking.

Lucy had gone grocery shopping just last week, but she must have forgotten to bring a new supply. Her roommate, however amazing and kind she was, could be a touch forgetful.

It was likely that she had gone through their emergency stash, and then simply forgotten to tell Yukino or add it to the list.

However, this was _very_ problematic for Yukino now.

How was she to manage without any pads at all?

Before, when a similar situation had occurred, Yukino had attempted to use toilet paper as a substitute. It had failed miserably, and Yukino had been lucky that Sorano had been there to bail her out of trouble.

However, Sorano was currently in Italy with her boyfriend Gray, and even Lucy was out spending the weekend at the Heartfilia Estate with her father.

There was no way they would be able to bail her out now.

Which meant that Yukino had to go out, in the middle of the night, to get a new box of pads, while all the while controlling the steadily leaking blood flow.

She sighed.

Well, if she was going to go make a fool out of herself, she might as well change before she did. No need for anyone to see her blood-stained, incredibly short, Mickey Mouse sleeping shorts set.

No need at all.

* * *

Yukino crept furtively along the aisles of the local CVS.

She was lucky it was open 24 hours a day, or she didn't know what she would have done.

Luckily, her blood flow had decided to halt temporarily, almost as if it realized the monumental importance of this trip.

She crept around the last aisle and finally arrived at her destination. Grabbing as many double-layered pads as she could, she threw them all into the basket she carried, and added a few tampons for good measure too. Lucy hated tampons, so there was no risk that a situation like this would happen again.

Her basket half-filled with all the products, Yukino hurriedly made her way to the check-out counter.

And then promptly froze.

 _Oh no_.

Of all people, why did it have to be him?

Him and his two-toned hair, standing there, his beautiful crimson eyes wide and framed by long, swooping eyelashes. Him and his perfect lips, always covered with a smooth layer of dark lipstick. Him and his _everything._

It figured that the only cashier she would have to meet on her late-night shopping trip would be _him_.

He seemed to finish his current customer, and then glanced up to see who was next.

His eyes landed on her.

A light seemed to emerge within them, and he waved her further.

 _Oh no_.

Yukino desperately glanced around for an escape, but found one. He appeared to be the only available cashier, and judging by the yawning emerging from the nearby counters, the most efficient one. She had no valid reason for refusing to go to him.

No valid reason except the possibility of total humiliation in front of the guy she _liked_.

No reason at all.

Swallowing her pride and tilting her chin up, Yukino strode confidently towards him. She must have not looked as confident as she thought though, as he appeared quite puzzled by her change in manner.

She set the products in front of him without a word.

He looked at the contents.

She looked straight ahead, refusing to acknowledge his presence at all. This wasn't odd at all. He had no right to judge her.

She heard a muffled sound emanate from him-disgust? Was he disgusted by her? Was her terrified? What would he think of her now?

The sound grew louder, and with growing fury, Yukino realized he was _laughing._

He was laughing at her.

He thought her problems were absolutely ridiculous.

He thought _she_ was absolutely ridiculous.

Mortified, Yukino struggled to maintain her stony façade as she slid her credit card to pay for her purchase. Tears began to blur her eyes as she signed the receipt, but she scarcely noticed.

He finally seemed to be past his laughing fit, but mirth still shone in his eyes. "Have a nice day, Yukino."

Startled, she met his eyes. She hadn't been aware that he knew her name.

That just made it worse.

Distracted, she failed to notice how the mirth immediately disappeared the minute he registered her glassy eyes, or how his mouth immediately opened to apologize.

She didn't notice any of that, all as she rushed out of the store as fast as possible to escape his gaze.

Throwing herself into the car, she jammed her key into the ignition and paused, panting.

What an idiot she was.

She furiously wiped away at her tears, which had spilled in her frantic dash out of the store.

Of all the days to get her period…

He was sure to think she was crazy now. Between her emotional tears (no doubt caused by her period-Yukino was rarely that overdramatic) and her embarrassing purchases, he would probably think she was another absolutely insane female. There were loads of them around here anyways.

Furious again, Yukino quickly started her car, slammed her foot down on the pedal, and sped out of the driveway.

Never again.

She had already gone through this feeling of humiliation many times-Natsu, Sting, Rogue, and now… Macbeth.

Sorano _was_ right. Staying single for the rest of her life suddenly didn't sound so bad.

* * *

Macbeth cursed as he watched the car speed away, the flash of white hair visible through the window easily disappearing along the road.

He had raced out as soon as he could, shouting something to his manager on his way out.

Clearly, he hadn't been quick enough.

He really hadn't meant to embarrass her, or even laugh. She had just looked so _adorable_ , standing there, chin tilted up, cheeks furiously tinted red, pointedly avoiding his eyes…

He hadn't been able to contain himself.

And now, he had gone and made her cry.

Erik was right.

He _was_ an asshole.

After all, what kind of jackass made the girl he liked cry the one time he had been given a chance to possibly ask her out?

He sure as hell wouldn't be getting another chance after this.

Stifling a yawn, Macbeth sulkily headed back inside, prepared for another visit to Sabertooth.

It was time for another night of drowning himself in alcohol.

 **AN: Humiliation is not something to be underestimated. Sometimes, the mind of a girl can be a really fragile thing, no matter how strong they are.**

 **That having been said, this was meant to have been funnier, but well, it just wasn't in me to write it like that. Don't worry though-they do get together. Just remember to double-check the name of the bar Midnight's going to!**

 **And that's it for Day 4 everyone. Thank you for all the support you've given so far, and remember to check out Empress's stuff too!**

 **See you tomorrow, for Day 5: Old Friends!**

 **-Fareetauhl**


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: Welcome to Day 5: Makeup Fail!**

 **If you haven't read my note on Day 3 yet, I'd advise you to go back and read it. Similar concept in this and probably the rest of the week, so it might prove helpful.**

 **Meanwhile, enjoy yet another fluffy fic that my brain has produced.**

"Yukino, we're going now! Try not to burn down the apartment while I'm gone, okay?"

Midnight opened his eyes lazily to the scene. He opened them just quickly enough to catch the door slamming, both Lucy and Cobra having left the area.

"What did I miss?"

Yukino frowned at him. "Were you asleep that entire time?"

He groaned. "Just tell me what happened-without the nagging."

Yukino sighed, shaking her head. Honestly, he was just hopeless. "Lucy and Cobra left-"

"I already knew that."

"Would you just let me finish?"

Midnight sighed and slumped back. "Maybe if you got to the point sooner…"

" _Anyways_ , like I was saying, Lucy and Cobra went to visit her father. He's wanted them over for a while, apparently. If things go well, they might just spend the night there."

Yukino sighed wistfully. And she had been planning on a nice night in with her roommate too.

Midnight stood up, brushing off his last traces of sleep. "Well, never mind that then. That asshole Cobra and I were going to head back to see the rest of the Seis tonight, but it looks like it doesn't matter now."

She glared at him. "Why do you always call your best friend rude nicknames?"

Midnight spluttered. "That _snake bastard_ is not my best friend!"

"Whatever you say."

Midnight sulked quietly. She was being especially aloof towards him today. Was she really so mad about him sleeping?

He smirked as he came to a new realization.

"Oh Yukino…" he purred, slowly slinking towards her.

She blinked and turned around, abandoning her uncaring attitude. She gasped as he suddenly appeared next to her, tucking his head into the crook of her neck to nuzzle her. "Y-yes, Macbeth?"

"We're alone tonight."

"Y-yes, yes we are."

"Do you know what I'm thinking?"

"N-no."

"I'm thinking we take advantage of this to get some much needed alone time. What about you?"

Her face brightened immediately. "That sounds perfect!"

"Shall we adjourn to the bedroom then?"

She blushed a deep red, but then nodded, the motion slightly jostling Midnight's hair as he leaned further against her.

This might not be such a bad day after all.

* * *

Midnight pouted, sinking further into the comforter he had chosen to surround himself with.

This was _nothing_ like he imagined.

Beside him, Yukino was humming cheerfully as she flipped through the TV channels, finally settling on a rerun of How I Met Your Mother. She pulled out her knitting needles and merrily began to knit, her needles clinking lightly together occasionally.

"What exactly are we doing here, 'Kino?"

She blinked at him. "We're spending quality time alone with each other?"

"Why are you _knitting_?"

She cocked her head sideways, widening her eyes. "Because it's fun!"

"Knitting is only fun for grandmothers and cat ladies. You are neither, so you don't need to knit."

"I'm knitting mittens for Asuka, you jerk! And it is fun! You've never tried it, so how would you know?"

He scoffed, turning away. "I don't need to try it to know that it's ridiculous. And besides," he narrowed his eyes and adopted his best sultry look, tilting his head back towards her. "Aren't I _fun_ enough for you?"

Her breath caught as she stared at him. "O-of course you are." He smirked, satisfied. That was more like it. "You're right. We should spend time together!"

"That's right."

"Just appreciating each other's presence!"

"You're finally getting it."

"Through the power of knitting!"

His mouth dropped open. "Huh?"

"I get it now! You were just grumpy because you didn't know how to knit, and you were too shy to ask. Don't worry, I'll teach you! Let me just grab a spare set of knitting needles and some yarn!"

She ran out of the room, abandoning her own project in her haste.

Midnight collapsed back onto the bed, his soul leaving his body.

Why was he doomed to suffer like this?

* * *

Midnight stabbed the needles viciously through his newly forming scarf.

He was pathetic.

If the rest of the Seis saw him now…

He shuddered.

The thought was too traumatizing to think about.

Luckily, the only one witness to his humiliation would be his sweet (and somewhat dangerous) girlfriend.

And the sitcom that was still playing on the TV.

Seriously, how could Yukino enjoy this stuff?

Even as he thought that, Yukino gently laid her head on his shoulder and continued her knitting.

"I'm glad we get to do this."

Midnight lifted his head to look at her, only to find her peering up at him with a smile.

"I've missed you, you know. You've been so busy lately with your night classes-our schedules just haven't been working out, you know? But I'm glad we have this time to spend with each other." She sighed, leaning back over him. "And I really do appreciate you doing this, even though I know that you probably despise it."

The corner of his lips tilted upwards. "Don't worry-I've found plenty of ways to entertain myself. I've been brainstorming the top 100 ways to kill someone with these needles. So far, I'm on number 57."

She giggled, shaking her head. "Some people never change, huh?"

He smiled. "You know you love it."

She beamed up at him, leaning up to place a peck on his cheek. "You know I do."

He growled, reaching his hands out to pull her mouth back up to meet his. "Tease," he murmured, against the gentle press of her lips.

She smiled against his lips, and then pulled away, leaving him sulking in annoyance. She laughed at the expression on his face. "You look like a kid whose lollipop has just been taken away from him."

He smirked.

"No."

"It helps me stay awake!"

"The last time you had one, we both got really high and tried all three-hundred and thirty-three ways to get kicked out of Wal-Mart."

"Not one of them worked. Honestly, they shouldn't post unreliable info on the internet."

"Yes, because who knew that everything on the _internet_ isn't necessarily true?"

He wrapped his arm around her, pulling her closer. "It was fun, wasn't it? And the look on Lucy's face when she had to come pick us up off the property…"

Yukino giggled. "I felt so bad about that too…"

Midnight shrugged. "Why? She laughed afterwards too."

"Yes, but then she also got on a sugar high, so then we had to call Cobra. Remember that part?"

"Nope, I think I deleted that from my memory. Nightmares interfere with my sleep schedule."

She slapped him lightly, still giggling. "It wasn't _that_ bad."

"Maybe not for the two of you. We _live_ together. I had to endure a whole new level of punishment."

She pulled back, frowning. "We need to get back to work. I need to have these finished, since Asuka's birthday is in a week."

He groaned. "Can't you do it later? We can play around a little more," he said, leaning further towards her with every word.

She gracefully dodged his lips and scrunched up her eyebrows, thinking. "Well, I suppose I can work on this during my lunch breaks this week…"

"Exactly. C'mon, I know the perfect game to play."

She smiled shyly. "I think I know what you mean…"

He smirked. Finally. It was about time that she understood.

* * *

As he sat in front of Yukino, a Scrabble game already set up, Midnight wondered what he had done in life to deserve such an oblivious girlfriend.

Surely this had to be some sort of vicious punishment from God for always being an asshole.

There was no other excuse for this, right?

"Zirconic," she said, arranging the letters in their correct positions on the board.

He blinked, "Huh?"

"That's the word I spelled. And with that, I think I've won the game."

His mouth dropped open. "Now you're just making words up."

The closest thing to a demonic expression that she could achieve appeared on her face. "Are you, by chance, implying that I am _lying_?"

He gulped. "Nope. Not at all. You win. Good game!"

Her aura calmed down and she smiled serenely. "Thank you. And by the way, it is a word. Zirconium dioxide is a synthetic substitute for diamonds in jewelry. Lucy gave me a necklace that had some in it just last week."

He nodded sagely, trying to calm down his still fearful thoughts. Sometimes, it was so easy to forget that she was the sister of the hag from hell, Sorano. With her sweet eyes and kind words, it was an easy mistake to make. But lately, it seemed that she had been rubbing off on Yukino. Clearly, they had been spending far too much time together.

He would have to remedy that.

Staring at the occupied Scrabble board, Midnight made his decision.

Enough playing around, if Midnight wanted to spend some quality time with his girlfriend, he would. Screw all of her naivety (even though it was somewhat adorable), if she didn't understand what he meant, he would show her.

Pushing aside the Scrabble board carelessly and ignoring her yelp of surprise, Midnight grabbed her arm and pulled her towards him.

"Macbeth! What are you doing?"

Pushing her underneath him, Macbeth leaned over her, his expression hungry. "You've been practically ignoring me all day. I wanted your attention."

She yelped in surprise as he moved his head towards her neck and began to pepper kisses along the side, all the while getting closer to her mouth. "Ma-Macbeth, stop it. N-now's not the time."

He ignored her, only getting further towards his goal, brushing off her attempts to stop him.

"This is sexual harassment! You can't-"

He cut off her sentence mid-way, capturing her lips in a fierce kiss, and wrapping his arms around her waist to bring her closer. At first she seemed unrelenting, but gradually, her lips softened and she relaxed into the kiss.

This was more like it.

He moved his hands up to tangle in her short white locks. They rolled sideways, straight into the Scrabble board, her body on top of his. He hissed as the tiles dug into his back, but ignored it in favor of deepening the kiss, afraid that if he stopped now, she would regain her reason and stop this.

He heard briefly what sounded like the sound of a door opening, but chose to ignore it. They had probably left the TV running when they had left the bedroom.

The sound of a throat clearing came from above him, and he frowned, choosing to engage himself further into the kiss. It was probably his imagination.

It sounded again, and was this time accompanied by a voice.

"If you're not too busy apparently ravishing your girlfriend on a _Scrabble_ board, would you care to explain why you are attempting to christen _my_ girlfriend's living room floor?"

Even his imagination couldn't think that up. Or wouldn't, more like it.

Yukino hurriedly broke the kiss off and rolled sideways off of him, quickly getting up and readjusting her hair and clothing. "Cobra! No, we weren't doing anything like that, we were just-"

"Ushering in the new generation of humans? Contributing to the reproduction process of the world?"

Midnight sat up as well, scowling. "We might have been, if you hadn't interrupted it. Why are you back so soon anyways? I thought you were spending the night."

Cobra frowned. "We never-"

He was interrupted by the arrival of his blonde-haired girlfriend, and by the shoe she promptly chucked at him to shut him up.

"What the hell was that for?"

Lucy glared at him, brown eyes furiously reducing him to ashes. "You were being an asshole! Here they were, trying to give Mira some of the babies she's been _dying_ to have, and you just _had_ to interrupt them? Have you no shame?"

Yukino flushed a bright red, but spoke up indignantly. "Lucy! Not you too! We weren't even-"

"So you threw a stiletto at me? Those damn things hurt like a bitch, and you know it. Even that doesn't merit this kind of punishment," Cobra interjected, rubbing the sore spot on his face where the heel had dug in.

Lucy ignored him, turning towards Macbeth and Yukino instead. "You guys okay? I'm sorry that he-"

She froze, cutting herself off mid-sentence. Her mouth dropped open.

Midnight frowned. "What? Why are you staring like that?"

Cobra frowned as well, turning to look at him as well. Similarly, his mouth too dropped open.

Midnight's frown deepened. "Have I got something on my face?"

Yukino, also staring, wordlessly retreated into the bathroom and began rummaging for something. Coming back, she dropped a pocket mirror in his lap.

He looked up at her, curious, only to be greeted by a camera flash going off. Lucy quickly tucked away her phone, and gestured towards the mirror. He took it, still frowning, and moved it up to reflect his face.

His mouth dropped open in horror, even as he heard Cobra snapping out of his shock and shamelessly bursting into raucous laughter.

This couldn't be.

Midnight had been wearing makeup for roughly eight years of his life.

In all that time, he had never once smudged his makeup. Never.

He reached up, brushing his hand against his lips.

His hand passed over the atrocity.

A smudge.

His lipstick had _smudged_.

The mirror fell out of his hands as he fell backwards, darkness encroaching his vision. He faintly heard Yukino shaking his shoulders, attempting to revive him. He could see another stiletto flying through the hair, and heard Cobra's laughter cut off by the black shoe nailing him again.

But none of it mattered.

His life was officially over.

And it had all happened because of one, teensy, insignificant, _makeup fail_.

Omake:

Yukino smiled maliciously as she stared at her boyfriend's passed out body, but then turned her glance towards Lucy. "Did you get it?"

Lucy nodded, finally allowing a slight smile to grace her face. "Yup. It came out well and I've already sent it to her."

Yukino smirked, the look uncharacteristically evil on her sweet face. "Good. This idiot insulted Sora and embarrassed her in front of Gray last week, so it's about time I send her something to cheer her up."

Lucy smirked back. "I must say Yukino, I wasn't sure if you could pull this off. But you were perfect-he didn't seem to suspect a thing."

Yukino smiled at her. "All thanks to you-if you hadn't arranged that thing with your father today and given me the chance to lie to him about it, I wouldn't have been able to enact my plan."

Cobra stared, face still sore and red, as he began to understand what was going on. "So wait-you set this all up?"

Yukino beamed. "Yup! And he thought I was so naïve too…I really had him going there."

Cobra shivered, staring at the two of them. "You both are _pure evil_. Do you know what you've done to him? He'll never be the same."

Yukino smiled again, merely stroking Midnight's hair softly. "He'll be fine. Eventually."

Cobra merely looked at her for a few minutes, as if considering something.

Finally, he spoke up.

"Have you ever considered joining the Oracion Seis?"

 **AN: That was a little embarrassing to write-I'm not really one to write super intimate things, and even though that barely scratched the surface, it was enough to make me a little anxious…**

 **Anyways, it's done now, so who cares any more-right?**

 **See you tomorrow for Day 6: Old Friends! We'll be taking a short break from all this fluff for a touch of angst, so be prepared!**

 **PS: When I say a touch, I mean a touch.**

 **At least, I** _ **think**_ **it's a touch.**

 **-Fareetauhl**


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: And here's Day 6: Old Friends! I hope you guys like it!**

 **I'm a little nervous about this one, it can get a bit confusing, but I hope everyone gets it. Otherwise, that would just be embarrassing.**

 **Moving on with the story!**

Midnight paused as he heard the quiet footsteps nearing his door.

It had been seven years since he had seen someone other than the guards to his cell.

Seven years of isolation and loneliness, only filled with the jeering of his officers and the tasteless food that was supplied.

Seven years since he had made the worst mistake of his life.

No, he had made that mistake even longer before that.

He had made it when he decided to leave _her_ , and to go with _him_.

Brain.

A brilliant mastermind. An evil genius. A twisted psychopath.

And Midnight's supposed father.

That's how he had approached him after all, way back then. A long lost father, finding his son at last, and ready to take him home. A perfect scenario for the orphan boy, tossed along unwanted from orphanage to orphanage, with only the company of his best friend to keep him sane.

Only it hadn't been perfect at all.

The footsteps stopped in front of the door, and Midnight withheld a breath.

There was only one person who would even bother to visit him now.

One person who had never given up on him, who had kept supporting him and believing in him.

The one person who he never wanted to see again.

The door opened, and she walked in. The smell of apple blossoms overwhelmed his nostrils. The hood she was wearing slipped off, revealing a short head of bluish-white hair.

Yukino Aguria.

She dressed differently now, he noted. When they were younger, she had dressed modestly, always hiding her appearance in a feathered jacket. Now she had abandoned it in favor of a tight blue tank top and a skirt.

It was fine. It wasn't like he hadn't changed either.

It was obvious in the way that she struggled to withhold a gasp when she looked at him.

For so long, he had always cloaked himself in makeup. It had been his mask, and yet his identity. He had covered himself up, but had worn the truth on his face plainly. His cover had been his true self.

He had taken pride in that contradiction.

Now, he sat in front of her, stripped of all of that.

Even his exuberant styling, the animal printed pants and eye-catching vests had been replaced.

Instead, he wore an orange jumpsuit.

A sign of his new status, a reminder of his mistakes.

He knew why she was here.

His seven year quota, for all the crimes he had committed against her and her friends, was up.

He could be released right now.

But in this case, the court had made a special decision.

For him and his fellow gang members, there had been a seven year sentence, with the promise of more if she and her friends decided on it.

It had been a rare exception, only granted for the trauma they had suffered at his hands.

For Brain however, there had been no mercy. His façade as Midnight's father had been stripped away, and he had been killed in the fray seven years ago. His life was over.

But that was fine.

He didn't need a phony father anyways.

But he knew what she would choose.

He had seen it in her eyes, seven years ago.

Seven years ago, when she had finally lost it. Her faith.

Her faith in him was gone.

She had never wanted to see him again.

And so, as he looked to her now, knowing what she would say, he prepared himself for the inevitable.

And she spoke.

"You know, we all drew lots to choose who would get who today."

He blinked.

"I didn't expect to get you at all. The others had such random picks, well, except for Gray and Sorano. That one was expected. But Lucy and Cobra? Natsu and Hot-Eye? Erza and Michelle? They were the strangest combinations."

"Everyone else was able to come here before me. They all made their choices, and they all left and moved on.

"They gave _me_ a choice too. They knew we had… _history_. Lucy offered to switch with me. She told me she didn't mind."

"I said no."

Midnight nodded, unsurprised. After all, she was in front of him now, wasn't she?

"I said no _because_ it was her. Because although you and I had unfinished business, she had suffered much more at your hands."

He flinched, already knowing where this was going.

" _You_ were the one who suggested her. _You_ were the one who corrupted someone who was like her sister, and sent her to kidnap her for _you_. _You_ were the one who chained her up, and _you_ were the one who almost took all of her memories. _You_ were the one who almost let her drop into a pool of acid that would have absorbed her forever, and eaten her up tortuously."

"And _you_ are the reason that her sister was almost taken away forever."

" _You_ almost killed my best friend, her sister, and all of her closest friends. And me as well."

He cast his eyes downwards. This was worse than he thought. Her words were like daggers, pinning him to the wall and marking him, scarring him with all of his wrongs.

"And all for what? A _father_ who used you, corrupted you, and with whom you almost destroyed a whole city with? Under whose directions that you almost threw us all into chaos? For a raging psychopath?"

"Do you _honestly_ expect for me to forgive you? I saw that hope for a second when I arrived, like you were looking for me to rescue you. _Think_. Are you really worthy of that?"

"Go back and _think_ , _Midnight_. "

He recoiled. She had never once called him Midnight before. He had always been Macbeth to her.

"Go back and _think_ of when you stopped being Macbeth, and started being Midnight. _Think_."

"And when you're done, you can tell me if you still believe you should be freed after that. But until then, I'll wait."

And true to her word, she sat back and waited.

And he waited too. Waited for the memories to come back, as they always did. Waited for them to overwhelm him, to bring him back to those days of terror, cruelty, and selfishness, all caused by _him._ Waited and-

* * *

 _He was back with her._

 _Yukino._

 _Except back then, she had been just 'Kino to him. No formalities, just them._

 _Best friends. Old friends._

 _She smiled at him. "That's great Macbeth! I'm so happy for you!"_

 _He had smiled back, elated. "Yes, he says his name is Brain, which is a little odd, but he seems to want to try to be my father again. We're meeting at his workplace today."_

 _She had hugged him, grinning. "I can't wait to hear all about it. Now go out there and have fun, okay?"_

***********LINE BREAK**************

" _What's wrong Macbeth? Are you okay?"_

" _My father…has a different job than what I imagined. I don't think I can…"_

" _You shouldn't give up on him just for that. Is he a good person? Maybe you can help him get out of it."_

" _That's a good idea. I think I'll observe hi for a few days, try to understand why he works there, and try to talk him out of it."_

" _Sounds like a plan! Good luck, okay?"_

* * *

" _Macbeth, are you going to see your father again?"_

 _He froze, one hand on the doorknob. Could she know? "Yeah, what of it?"_

" _Just be careful, okay? There's a new gang roaming the streets-called the Oracion Seis I think. They're horrible. I saw it on the news."_

 _Macbeth swallowed, a pitting sensation in his stomach. "I will. Don't worry. I don't think I'll run into trouble with them though."_

" _If you say so. Are we still on for coffee later?"_

" _Actually, I'll have to pass. I've got something I need to do right now."_

 _And with that, he left, off to attempt to convince his father to forestall his plans again. His father's business must be getting out-of-control if it was appearing on the news…_

***********LINE BREAK**************

 _Midnight frowned._

 _It had been almost a month since he had become "Midnight", the infamous sleeping member of the Oracion Seis._

 _And strangely, although he had originally started this business to persuade his father out of it, he had begun to see its appeal._

 _The power they had over others-to see people who had made his life absolutely miserable before trembling in agony in front of them-the rush was incredible._

 _So many people had treated him cruelly. So many had taken their anger out on him._

 _It was about time he got some payback. Just for a little while. Then he could go back._

 _There was nothing wrong with a little revenge after all._

 _His frown faded into a smirk._

 _Nothing wrong at all._

* * *

 _He frowned. "What do you mean you can't hang out tonight?"_

 _Yukino shrugged apologetically. "I've already made plans with Lucy, the girl I told you about, and the rest of her friends. We're going to the Fairy Tail bar together. You're welcome to come too, if you want."_

 _Midnight frowned petulantly. "You're my best friend. We should get to hang out together more ofte. You're always with them now."_

 _Yukino frowned back at him. "No, we never hang out anymore because you're always with your dad. There's nothing wrong with that-I'm glad you two are bonding. But it just means we don't spend as much time together as before."_

" _We could spend time now, if you would stay. "_

 _She laughed, ruffling his two toned-shaggy hair. "Nice try. I'll see you later, okay?"_

 _He pouted lightly as she made her way to the door. She paused suddenly before it._

" _I almost forgot! Did you help your dad out of his problem yet?"_

 _Midnight froze, and then relaxed. She didn't know. Of course she didn't. And she didn't have to. "Yeah, he's walking the straight and narrow now. All good," he lied._

 _She smiled at him. "That's great! I'm so relieved!"_

* * *

 _He glared furiously at her._

 _She glared back._

" _I don't care what you say. I'm going out with them tonight. I can't free myself for you every time you want me to anymore. I've got friends now too."_

" _You're always with_ them _! You never see me anymore!"_

" _And whose fault is that? You think I didn't see you last week?"_

 _Midnight felt his stomach drop at that. Last week had been another minor raid-could she have seen him? "Last week?"_

" _Yes! You were out with this strange group of people, when you told me you were with your dad! There was even a white-haired girl in there, just like me! Care to explain why you lied?"_

" _I didn't lie. Those were my father's clients."_

 _She snorted. "Yeah, right. They were way too young."_

" _That doesn't have anything to do with this! What's so great about that Lucy anyways? She's just a blonde slut who's as dim witted as-"_

 _SLAP!_

 _Yukino's hand cracked across his cheek. He fell back with shock._

 _She spoke, her voice low and dangerous. "You do_ not _speak about my friends that way. For the past few months, she has been a better friend to me then you have. In fact, she's practically like my sister now."_

" _I don't know what's going on with you, but I don't like it. Call me up when you can quit being an asshole and actually talk things out."_

 _And with that final statement, she left, Midnight still gaping after her._

 _Yukino had never uttered a swear word in her life._

 _She had also never struck someone outside of her self-defense classes._

 _She had just done both things, and she had done them on_ him.

 _A burning hatred grew within his heart, an angry flame directed at_ her _._

 _Lucy Heartfilia._

 _She would pay for corrupting Yukino against him._

 _They would all pay._

 _But first, he needed help._

 _It was about time he paid a visit to that Michelle Lobster._

* * *

" _I call to the stand Macbeth of Oracion Seis."_

 _Midnight rose, and slowly walked towards the podium._

" _Macbeth, you are under charges of the assault and attempted murder of Lucy Heartfilia, Erza Scarlet, Gray Fullbuster, and Wendy Marvel. You are also guilty of participating in illegal activities, and attempting to enact a sacrificial ritual for your cult on the previously addressed Lucy Heartfilia. How do you plead to these charges?"_

 _His voice low, Midnight replied. "Guilty."_

" _You are also guilty of the attempted assault of Yukino Aguria. How do you respond to that charge?"_

 _Midnight's eyes hardened. "Not guilty. I would never hurt 'Kino."_

 _The judge frowned, but seemed to ignore it. "Very well. This matter must be discussed further with the victims, but for now, we hereby sentence you to seven years in prison to atone for your mistakes, since you are still a minor, and were acting under the orders of another adult. Court dismissed. Take him away."_

 _And with that, the officers took him away, roughly pushing him back into the holding cell he was to be in until they decided on his fate._

 _But on his way there, he got a glimpse of the brown eyes that haunted him. He heard an echo of her screams as she begged him to stop; he saw the horror in her eyes of when she finally realized who he had become._

 _And he wondered._

 _The judge had seemed to puzzle over the charge against her. She hadn't been injured after all._

 _But then, if it hadn't been due to injury and brought up by the court, then…_

 _That meant that she had pressed charges against him._

 _And with that last thought, Midnight felt the last of his hope collapse._

 _Why bother? There was no point in living anymore after all._

 _Because if this was a world where his best friend and the one person he loved thought he was a monster…_

 _Then that world no longer needed his existence._

* * *

Midnight collapsed his head into his arms as he felt the last memory replay in his head.

Over the years, the despair he had felt in that moment had dulled, leaving him almost apathetic to it all.

However, with _her_ visit, everything had been revived all over again.

His hatred of the world, hatred of her friends, hatred for his existence…

All of it had faded, leaving behind a tolerable emptiness.

And as he buried himself further into the boiling emotions he had kept himself locked away form for so long, Midnight felt the first stirrings of regret for his actions.

And for his actions towards Lucy Heartfilia.

The blonde had been a good friend to Yukino when he hadn't. It wasn't her fault that he was such a bastard.

And it certainly wasn't her fault that he broke Yukino's heart. He had done that all by himself.

Well, with the help of Brain of course. None of this could have happened without his pseudo-father after all.

And with that, Midnight collapsed back within the slowly increasing pool of self-disgust and regret he had begun to accumulate.

And yet, in the midst of his despair, Midnight felt a cool, familiar hand stroking his hair. With shock he looked up to see her looking straight back at him.

She wasn't smiling, as she used to when she had done this, but there was something more in her face. Something that gave him vague hope, that was promptly crushed again.

"The others forgave your fellow members for what they did. 'Forgive and forget', that's what Natsu told me. And he said it with such a smile on his face…"

Her voice hardened. "But I can't forget. And I'm certainly not ready to forgive. So if you want my forgiveness, you better work for it. I've got a long memory after all. And you don't _deserve_ to be forgiven."

Her voice shook, and he realized that she was holding back tears. "Not after what you _did_."

What was still left of his heart broke for her, but she recovered quickly, shaking her tears away.

"I'm going to tell them to let you go."

His mouth dropped wide open.

"I shouldn't really. I would be perfectly justified just to leave you here. No one would blame me-not even Lucy, and she's the most forgiving person I know."

"But however weak it may be, I can't _bear_ to see you like this. Empty and so lonely… It's not right. It bothers me. You shouldn't be forced to live like this-even if you've done so many _awful_ things."

"Right now, they're probably preparing the paperwork. You're free to go, Midnight."

He grimaced when she called him by that name, but chose to ignore it for now. "Why…Why are you doing this? I don't deserve this. You should just leave me here to rot."

"You don't deserve this. And I shouldn't be doing this. But..." She bit her lip, frowning at the floor.

"We were old friends once. I owe you this at least, for what you did for me once."

She frowned, shaking her head. "Don't misunderstand me-I'm still very angry. But if there's one thing I've learned from all these years, it's that sometimes, the past should stay in the past. We shouldn't forget it, or forgive it, but we shouldn't hold onto it and let it consume us either. Just like you shouldn't have taken back a long-lost father so quickly, and you shouldn't have let your previous hatred at your mistreatment take over you. I'm not you. I _won't_ make the same mistakes."

Midnight nodded. It was all true after all. "Me neither. I promise-I'm going to use this chance to make it up to you-and _her._ You won't regret this."

She quirked her lips slightly upwards. "I better not."

"So, are we friends again? Or enemies?"

Yukino sighed. "I don't think I'm ready for either."

"How about frenemies?"

She gaped at him. "You've only known you're free for five minutes now, and you're already cracking jokes?"

He smirked. "Would you have it any other way?"

Her face furrowed, then transformed into a bright smile. He caught his breath. He couldn't even remember the last time she had smiled like that, especially towards him.

It was beautiful.

"No, I wouldn't. Thank you for making me smile, _Macbeth_."

 **AN: And that's it for Day 6! MidKino week is almost over, so please take the chance to maybe write something up for one of the prompts. Empress and I would love to see it!**

 **See you tomorrow for Day 7: Vehicles!**


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: Just a little shortie chapter for Day 7, I hope you like it! Tomorrow, I'll hopefully be posting the last bonus chapter, but due to some technical difficulties (aka me not backing up my word documents and it getting half-deleted somehow), it might be a little later. It'll be up ASAP though guys!**

"Wait! I can catch up! Hold on!"

7 year-old Sting looked back briefly as he sped away, Rogue's bike right next to him. "Sorry 'Kino! We've got to run, we'll see you later!"

6 and a half year-old Yukino pedaled her bike frantically, struggling to keep up. But it was no use.

Giving up, she stared furiously at her tri-wheeler.

They had left her behind again.

How could she ever be fast enough to keep up? Her little blue tri-wheeler just wasn't good enough to keep up with their speedy two wheelers. And soon enough, they would be getting gear bikes, which put them almost at an unbeatable level. Then, she'd be even further behind, considering she didn't have the balance to ride a two-wheeler yet.

Sighing, she turned her bike around and began pedaling to her friend Lucy's house. Surely Lucy would be able to make her feel better-Lucy was able to make _anyone_ feel better. Just one big smile from her seemed to light up the room, and her sunny personality made it _impossible_ not to smile back too.

But just as she arrived at Lucy's house, the door burst open and a pink-haired ball of energy shot out the doors.

Yukino caught her breath, and blushed a light pink.

It was _Natsu_.

Natsu was the cute boy who lived near her and went to her school. He had recently saved her from some bullies, and unlike most boys her age, he was fun, and nice, and everything amazing about the world.

He was also Lucy's best friend.

Which meant, thankfully, that Yukino saw him often.

Yukino raised her voice to shout to him. "Natsu!"

Natsu paused, halfway onto mounting the bike in front of Lucy's house, another speedy looking red two-wheeler. "Oh hey Yukino! What's up?"

She blushed deeper. "Where are you going?"

He finished mounting, and quickly tied his helmet on. "To Lisanna's house! We're going biking by the creek!"

Yukino beamed. This was her chance! Surely Lisanna was still on her three-wheeler, being a little girl just like her, which meant that Yukino could stay even with them if she went to! "Hey Natsu-!"

"Gotta go! I'll see you later, okay? Say bye to Lucy for me!"

"Wait! Can I-"

And with that, he was gone, shooting like a bullet downhill towards where Yukino knew Lisanna's house was. Leaving her bind, as always.

Yukino's hand dropped uselessly, her eyes welling with tears as she saw yet another one of her friends leave her behind in the dust.

Sighing, she stepped off of her tricycle and ran up the few steps to ring on Lucy's doorbell. It opened almost immediately, causing Yukino to dart back in surprise. Unfortunately, when the door opened, it turned out to only be Virgo, Lucy's somewhat odd maid.

"Virgo? It's you? Where's Lucy?"

"Princess recently learned how to ride a bicycle, and she left with her friend to go practice more. Are you upset? Would you like to punish me?"

Yukino backed away, slowly shaking her head. Lucy really had the oddest servants. "No-no, I'm fine. I'll just be going now!"

She quickly hopped onto her trike and pedaled away as fast as she could. Finally reaching the front of her own house, she stopped and slumped over the handle-bars.

So Lucy had learned how to ride a two-wheeler as well huh?

Yukino couldn't help but be disappointed. She had taken comfort in knowing that most girls her age couldn't ride a bike (except Erza and Mira, but they were on a different level), and to find out that her closest friend Lucy could, made her feel a bit behind everyone else.

She buried her face deeper into her arms. Now that she thought about it, Mira had probably taught Lisanna as well. So that meant that almost everyone her age knew how to ride one.

Except her of course.

At this rate, she would never be able to catch up to Natsu.

She stifled a sob, as she cursed her weak legs and clumsy balance.

"Yukino? Is that you?"

Sniffling, Yukino raised her head to find herself face to face with her older sister's friend, Macbeth.

"Macbeth?"

He grinned at her, his long, two-toned hair swinging just beneath his ears. "I go by Midnight now actually. So what's up? Why the long face?"

Yukino blinked at him. "My face is longer?"

He laughed, shaking his head. "Forget it. Anyways, why do you look sad?"

Yukino hesitated. She wasn't exactly the kind of person to go around spilling her feelings around, but this was _Macbeth_. He had known her since she was a kid.

"I can't ride a two-wheeler!"

He blinked at her.

She exhaled, feeling better once she had admitted it.

He blinked again.

And then burst out laughing.

Yukino stared at him in betrayal. He was _laughing_? This was a serious issue! It wasn't something to be _laughed_ at, let alone by someone she had known from when she was just a toddler. Furious tears erupted in her eyes, blurring her vision. "It's not funny!"

Macbeth wiped away his mirth, but continued grinning. "I'm spry, it's just… never mind. Anyways, that's a problem that's easily fixed. Give me about ten minutes, and I'll have it done."

And with that, Macbeth steered her tricycle away from her, taking it into their garage. Yukino frowned after him, curious as to what he was doing, but decided to forego asking in exchange for a few cheer-up cookies and maybe even some apple juice.

* * *

Yukino stared at the sight before her.

"Do you like it?"

She swallowed, the sound unnaturally loud in the silent garage. "It's... my bike."

He smirked at her. 'What did you think it would be?"

"How am I supposed to ride it now?"

"Easy. I'll teach you. You can't ride on three wheels forever, you know."

Yukino glanced up at him, eyes shining. "Really? You'll teach me?"

He grinned back, coloring lightly. "Really. Why don't we get started?"

She nodded eagerly, and proceeded to hop onto the bike, and then promptly fall down with a squeal as Macbeth laughed.

But even though she was groaning and he was laughing at her, Yukino couldn't help but smile.

After all, out of all of her friends who knew how to ride a bike, Macbeth had been the only one nice enough to try to teach her how.

And that in itself made him amazing.

 **AN: Thanks for everything this week guys. This was definitely a learning experience. I really hoped everyone enjoyed it as much as I did! See you tomorrow for the Bonus: Burnt!**

 **-Fareetauhl**


	9. Chapter 9

**An: Okay-this turned out** _ **a lot**_ **different from what I thought. It's a touch sad, but hopefully you'll like it anyways.**

 **Without further ado, here's Bonus: Burnt!**

Yukino used to dream of fire.

She always had, it seemed. She dreamt of the day her village went up in flames, the screams of her parents and the villagers as they struggled to protect the children, the final image of her sister as she was dragged away, kicking and screaming.

When she had survived that night, she had looked at the blisters on her hands, her feet, and her face.. They had been an angry red, puckered and pus-filled. And she had thought to herself:

 _This is what fire did to me. This is what fire made for me._

 _Fire burns me._

So she had escaped, and lived in fear, of the flame that everyone else seemed so glad to have. But it was too warm a flame for her to handle, and she thought that it always would be.

But then, she joined Sabertooth.

And then suddenly, nothing was too warm for her to handle. If she couldn't handle it, then she was weak. And Yukino refused to be the weak little girl she once was-cowering behind her older sister and huddled in the remains of her burned village.

Yukino was a lot of things. She wasn't _weak_.

But after being sliced into submission by Kagura of Mermaid Heel, after being stripped and humiliated in front of her guild…

Yukino had reverted back to who she used to be-a shriveled, frail little thing. A shell. Her fear of fire came back immediately, and she realized she had never overcome it-just tucked it away for later. She was as weak as she always had been, even if she wore a strong front to cover it.

And then Natsu Dragneel had come.

He had been like the antivenin to her poison-burned away everything that she feared in one massive stroke. He had showed her that fire could be tamed, could be _good_. She had felt a warmth that her feathered cloak could never bring her-one that she had embraced willingly and happily.

And then she had experienced a new type of fire- a burning, passionate one that consumed her existence.

She had loved him.

And he had shattered her.

Unintentionally, of course. He couldn't have known the extent of her love for him-he couldn't have known how much it had hurt to see him pick the other white-haired girl instead.

He would never know.

And Yukino had been left alone again, shivering without his gentle flames. And the fire had come back, to her dreams, where it had haunted her with its blazing inferno, burning her from the inside out.

And then _he_ had come.

A single figure of serenity, in between all of the chaos of Fairy tail and Sabertooth.

A quiet corner of solitude, with hair as black as the soot the blaze brought, and as white as the ash it sprinkled down after burning through it all.

He was everything that she had needed-everything she could ever want. Their love had been gentle, so different from the way it had been with Natsu, creeping up on her and embracing her with solace.

And she had been happy.

He didn't take away the fire-she doubted anything could. But he did help her face it.

She was no longer alone in her dreams-he stood beside her, constantly shielding her from the flames.

The Celestial mage and the Reflector mage.

They had made quite a pair.

Their children were beautiful, happy, bundles of joy. They seemed to light up their world.

And gradually, as they moved out, found their own places to live, and as the soot color of his hair began to turn lighter and grayer, Yukino discovered there was a new type of flame. One she had not discovered.

The fire of agony.

It was something beyond the grief she had once felt, something that consumed her far more than anything else had. The flames she had once feared retreated, replaced with a new kind of torture. A hollow cavity was all that remained inside of her, once so filled with emotion and hoy.

Everyone worried for her. They murmured, when they thought that she could not hear that she was taking this too hard. That she could not live like that forever. That something had to be done.

Something _did_ need to be done.

So for once in her life, instead of fighting or fearing the flames, Yukino embraced them.

The pain that brought was nothing compared to the agony she had once felt, and within moments, Yukino found herself within oblivion. At last, she was free from the fire.

Her friends would find her body in the morning, she knew. They would find it, and they would cry, beg for her to come back, scream that this wasn't what they had meant. Scream for her to come back.

But Yukino was beyond that now.

She was beyond everything.

And at last, Yukino was at peace.

Hand-in-hand with the one she loved, she moved on.

 **AN: And with that, MidKino Week 2016 is over! I hope you guys had fun this week, because I sure did. A thank you to my amazing friend EmpressofEverything for letting me co-host this with her-I definitely had a lot of fun with this. Be warned-I may add on to some of the prompts later. Keep an eye out just in case!**

 **A lot of writing went into this, so I may be wiped for a little while, and any future stories might be a little on the short side. But I assure you, I do intend to go back and update some of my older stories like Secrets and Lies, The Real Story Behind Werewolves, and Jackal 101 (I can't believe that I** _ **haven't**_ **updated that one).**

 **I also plan on starting a new story-one that I'm very excited for. It's a Jerza Maid-Sama style fic that's** _ **not**_ **a crossover, and since it's one of my very few not Lucy-centric stories, I'm pretty pepped up for it.**

 **Anyways, that's all for now, so see you guys later!**

 **-Fareetauhl**


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